Description
Gourmet French-style duck confit celebrates tender, slowly-cooked meat with perfectly crisp skin that melts in your mouth. Culinary magic from Gascony brings rich flavors and classic techniques to make a restaurant-worthy dish you’ll savor with pure delight.
Ingredients
Scale
Duck Legs:
- 4 duck legs (skin-on, bone-in)
Seasoning:
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) black pepper
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) ground allspice
Aromatics and Herbs:
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
Fat:
- 4 cups (960 milliliters / 32 ounces) duck fat
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters / 0.5 ounces) duck fat (reserved from cooking)
Serving Suggestions:
- Roasted or sauteed potatoes
- Green beans or a fresh salad
- Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Thoroughly dry duck legs using clean paper towels, ensuring surface moisture is completely removed.
- Create a robust seasoning blend by generously massaging salt, freshly ground black pepper, and aromatic allspice into every crevice of the duck legs.
- Arrange duck legs in a shallow ceramic or glass dish, strategically positioning whole garlic cloves, delicate thyme sprigs, fragrant rosemary branches, and rustic bay leaves around the meat.
- Meticulously wrap the seasoned dish with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid, allowing the herbs and spices to infuse the duck with rich, complex flavors.
- Refrigerate the prepared duck legs for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 24 hours, enabling the salt to draw out moisture and concentrate the seasoning throughout the meat.
Notes
- Properly drying duck legs ensures crispy, golden-brown skin that’s irresistibly crunchy and packed with flavor.
- Using kosher salt or sea salt creates a perfect curing process, drawing out moisture and intensifying the meat’s natural richness.
- Avoid rushing the marinating time, as the 12-24 hour rest allows herbs and spices to deeply penetrate the duck meat, creating complex, aromatic layers.
- For a low-carb or keto-friendly version, this recipe is naturally compliant and can be paired with roasted seasonal vegetables for a complete meal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (+12 hours curing)
- Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 800
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 1500 mg
- Fat: 70 g
- Saturated Fat: 20 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 40 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 50 g
- Cholesterol: 180 mg